Fresh on the heels of the COP 21 climate summit in Paris, the United Nations is set to open a new environmental policy centre in Dubai to foster new low-carbon, green-building initiatives in the UAE and Middle East.

 

The Centre of Resource Efficient and Sustainable Cities for the Arab Region is a new project by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in partnership with Dubai Land Department and will coordinate eco-friendly initiatives for smart cities across the region.

 

Officials said the new sustainable cities centre will be announced on Thursday at the inaugural Dubai Sustainable Cities Summit at Jumeirah Beach Hotel.

 

The summit will focus on UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) raised at the Paris climate summit which relate to sustainable cities.

 

“Apart from addressing the important topic of sustainability for the built environment, the event serves as a launch platform for a new centre being established between Dubai Land Department and UNEP. The centre will be located in Dubai and act as UNEP’s hub to build local, national and regional capacity for resource efficient policies,” summit organizers said.

 

The summit will serve as a platform in line with UAE Vision 2021, Dubai Plan 2020 and Dubai Expo 2020.

 

More than 30 expert speakers will gather at the summit with government leaders, NGOs, sustainability practitioners, business leaders and regulators.

 

The summit will explore new ways to use technology, education, employment and measurement to accelerate adoption rates for effective sustainable strategies. The summit will also look to new ideas that integrate design and the construction sector and developing regional benchmarking standards to measure the sustainability of cities in the Arab world. (GulfNews)